I somehow preferred the American movie, Quarter Life Crisis, directed by Kiran Merchant, that has Maulik Pancholy and Lisa Ray playing the lead pair caught up in what is termed quarter life crisis, an experience half way prior to the mid-life crisis. The story, comically, shows the travails of this young couple in love and their coming to terms with each other's inadequacies. Maulik plays Neil Desai who is dumped by his girl friend for being the usual irresponsible bachelor spending too much time with his desi friends whom she considers good-for-nothings. He gets to meet a limo driver named Dilip Kumar, an astrology freak, who takes him through different ways to find him a right match. His attempt end up in vain and he drives to the author of the book on star signs from which he draws suggestions from. Dili finds out from the author herself that it is just a marketing gimmick and it had no truth or reasoning to it. As is usual for romantic comedies, the pair finally make up, courtesy Dilip Kumar. Quarter Life Crisis has been filmed rather amateurishly but the soul of the film is intact and it transcends to the audience aptly and it succeeds at that.

The next movie was 42 Plus, an Austrian movie on a wealthy couple facing mid life crisis. Sabrine Derflinger has directed the movie. 42 Plus, in German language, deals with emotional highs and lows of a wife named Christine played by Claudia Michelsen. The couple and their teenage daughter embark on a vacation to the Mediterranean to spice up their lives. Being ignored by her husband, Christine gets involved with her husband’s friend. During the vacation, she gets to meet a teenager named Tomaz, who makes advances towards her to which she accedes. This develops into an affair as she begins to fall for Tomaz and his youthful energy begins to have a positive influence on her. How Christine’s husband realizes that he loves his wife and tries to make amends and the daughter caught up in between the warring parents forms the rest of the story. It is a tale skillfully told and powerfully enacted by a cast comprising Ulrich Tukur, Tobias Moretti, Petra Morzé, Vanessa Krüger, and Jacob Matschenz. Must watch if you can get your hands on a DVD.

The day ended with a South Korean film Psychopath, a 1979 film, that shows the perspective of a serial rapist and the reasons behind his actions. It is a disturbing film that questions your views on such people. The film also looks at the victim's perspective. Psychopath directed by Shin Hae Kim, even analyses the mindset of the rapists and their approach in selecting their victims. A very rare film to get on DVD and hence your only chance at catching it could be at a Film Festival in your city.

Sunday was a fare for Indian films under the Indian Panorama section with Vanaja, a Telugu film being the first. This film won the Best Debut Award at the Berlin Film Festival and is directed excellently by Rajnesh Domlapalli. The film talks about class and caste differences that exist and its impact on the unadulterated, flirtatious love of a young couple and its impact on their lives. It is a movie that you will not get to see in theatres, as it wouldn't get a commercial release.

The next was the Tamil film Paruthiveeran, a movie that hardly anybody would have missed and is testimony to the rising standards of Tamil cinema and the recognition it has gained in the international arena recently. Radha Mohan’s Jyothika and Prithiviraj-starrer Mozhi, another example of classy filmmaking within the parameters of mainstream cinema told in puritan and earthly fashion followed Paruthiveeran

The highlight of the day was the German movie Emma's Bliss directed by Sven Taddicken. This film is about a car salesman who discovers that he is suffering from pancreatic cancer and is into the final stages, termed terminally ill. Meanwhile, in the countryside, Emma owns a farm with a pigsty and a few chickens. Emma owes debts to the village's financier, a rude woman and her son, a patrol officer who has a soft corner for her, as they were childhood friends. Being a loner, as her grandfather expires, Emma is desperate to have a man in her life. At this point of time, an unexpected accident hurls salesman Max, who steals a car from the showroom he works in with some money, into her farm. How their relationship develops and the emotional climax forms the rest of the story. This heartrending tale is bound to leave you in tears without being loud at any point. Truly a classic in every aspect right from its characterization to treatment. Don't miss it, a DVD shouldn't be difficult to locate.